On our standardized testing days, I was one of the relief teachers -- I went from class to class giving the administering teachers 15-minute breaks. There is probably nothing more boring than going into a classroom full of students who are silently, diligently working, staying there for 15 minutes, and then leaving to do it again... over 4 consecutive hours. The administering teachers appreciated their breaks but it was excruciating, until I figured out I could bring my knitting and actually do something productive.

I sometimes bring some small piecework that I can do while wandering around the lunch room while I'm on duty there, too. The students are fascinated.

I like that knitting is cool now. It's not often that something I'm doing coincides with a trend.

I remember when on a cubscout event, the couselors taught making braided laynards. The kids were into it for about five minutes and then gave their partially finshed projects to their parents. We all worked on those laynards for hours. It was meditative.

OT: The ad at the start of the video (chicken sweaters?) is supposed to run 16 seconds, but actually runs 30. The caption telling how many seconds left to the material runs down the 16 seconds and then starts displaying, "video will start in -(x) seconds".

As trends go, it seems like knitting is finally in decline where I am after a few very robust years. For awhile you couldn't throw a ball of yarn without hitting some hipster, old lady, new mother sitting in the coffee shop, bookstore, or park bench with a bag of yarn in her NPR tote, NPR tote, or NPR tote.

Thursday we were at a orientation for parents of incoming football players at the college where my son is going to play. During all the presentations by the various coaches a woman knitted frantically. My 14 year old daughter thought is was "really weird." I'd add rude to that.

I crochet all the time, while watching TV, listening to an audiobook, waiting for an appointment, listening to a dull hearing or deposition, or sitting around in conversation. Anyone who thinks he needs the undivided attention of his audience's hands as well as their ears probably is uncomfortably aware that his presentation is a boring waste of time.

I don't knit. (I did the post because: 1. I thought the woman in the photograph looked really cool, and 2. to entertain Irene.)

But I would think knitting would really help a person listen well. I usually draw (or play solitaire on my iPhone) if I need to sit still and listen to something. It's painful to be forbidden to do these things.

Me too. My grandmother taught me to knit when I was 8 years old. A loooooong time ago.

I've been knitting ever since.

And, yes it can be meditative, especially when you are doing a simple pattern that doesn't require counting. Of course once you have done the pattern repeats a few times you don't need to count, you can just tell by looking at it what you should be doing.

After 911, you were not able to knit on the plane. Too threatening and dangerous I suppose.

Althouse said, "I don't knit. (I did the post because: 1. I thought the woman in the photograph looked really cool, and 2. to entertain Irene.)"

Yes! I am very entertained!

"But I would think knitting would really help a person listen well. I usually draw (or play solitaire on my iPhone) if I need to sit still and listen to something. It's painful to be forbidden to do these things."

This is exactly right. I focus better when I knit. I am an active listener when my hands move in a deliberate pattern that keeps my mind from wandering. I knit whenever I can at meetings. Some people assume it's rude, but it's quite the opposite. A knitter is an alert listener.

My mother, who was a physician from the 1950s through the 1980s, used to respond to patient calls from home. She spent many hours each day sitting with the telephone balanced on her shoulder. She knitted during these telephone calls.

Althouse had a post (with photo) several years ago about people who were knitting at a law school retreat. I cannot find it now.

Although this may awaken Crack, there are studies showing that knitting releases endorphins and other "happy chemicals" in the brain. Knitting definitely has made me calmer during testy times. I've knitted while studying for law school exams, waiting for relatives to come out of surgery, and through chyemotherapy. It's also a great way to make a road trip even more enjoyasble.

A friend of mine, a woman physician, used to knit through boring committee meetings. Eventually, she bought a racing sailboat (My son used to crew for her) and would sit on the stern knitting while the kids ran the boat. She had to give it up because the yarn got wet.

"This is exactly right. I focus better when I knit. I am an active listener when my hands move in a deliberate pattern that keeps my mind from wandering. I knit whenever I can at meetings. Some people assume it's rude, but it's quite the opposite. A knitter is an alert listener."

Knitting classes should be made available to all public union members.

Irene, I also knit in meetings, particularly those likely to go late. The first time I did it, a lot of people looked at me like, "Oh, she's bored so she's getting out the knitting." Then when I piped up to participate in the conversation they were surprised that I was not only listening but paying close attention.

Ann, I've read a couple of studies that say that doodling, knitting, other "brainless" activities that we do while listening all engage the same part of the brain.

I used to own a yarn shop, and really loved it when the younger knitters would come in. So much more likely to want the good yarn!

I knit on the airplane whenever I fly. The TSA even states that they are acceptable though it is up to the descretion of the TSA person standing in front of you. I usually take only wooden needles and have a yarn cutter but I haven't had a problem (knock on wood).

My mom knits all the time. She made us knit in exchange for watching TV. As a result, I can knit with the best of the girls. Mom used to knit at the movies. Clickrty click. Some fellow mover goers were not amused. At eighty, she still teaches knitting. The young ones think she is cool. Her embroidery is better. So is her lace.

I taught myself to knit right after my mother died of Alzheimer's Disease. It took my mind off those years and forced me to focus on something else. Much like sewing, which requires focus, doing something step by step. It's very therapeutic.